Young children's perceptions of social withdrawal in China and Canada

The goal of the present study was to explore attitudes and responses to different forms of social withdrawal in China and Canada. Participants in this study were children in early elementary school in the People's Republic of China (n = 213; 113 boys, 100 girls, M-age = 6.11 years) and Canada (n = 162; 60 boys, 102 girls, M-age = 6.20 years). Children were presented with hypothetical vignettes describing the behaviours of shy, unsociable, and socially competent peers and responded to questions designed to assess their perceptions, attitudes, and responses. Results indicated that Chinese and Canadian children differed in their responses, particularly with regard to hypothetical unsociable peers. These findings shed some additional light on possible cross-cultural differences in the meaning and implications of different forms of social withdrawal.